


This is why you knock

by UrbanEagle



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, I mean, I'm trying to be funny, This was stuck in my head for a while, and it suddenly changes your life forever, but don't worry it's not as bad as you think, like can you imagine a little accident such as walking in on a friend, like woah, please laugh at this, poor dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 04:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3636117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrbanEagle/pseuds/UrbanEagle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a simple mistake, really. In any other instance, he would have just apologized.<br/>But nope.<br/>Haru just stops and stares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is why you knock

**Author's Note:**

> I just signed up today and I'm already itching to post a fic because I haven't written and posted a fic in a while. On top of that, I (only now) just finished marathoning Free! Eternal Summer.  
> But this isn't during ES! This is during the first season.
> 
> I mean.  
> I know I probably didn't get the guys in-character well but I guess I'm not good at it anyway because I really haven't written in canon characters' perspective in the longest time.  
> UGH I'm just running on sugar right now please enjoy the fic and please tell me if you laughed or not I don't know how to write funny.

If it had been just any other day, Haru was just sure his mistake would have just been brushed off. That had happened before in the past: small mistakes that Makoto, Rei, Nagisa, and Rin easily let slide. Well, not Rin; he does mope around for a few minutes before reluctantly forgiving him.

If it was any of them, they definitely would have let his mistake slip.

It wasn't any of them. And he wasn't going to let it slide. Well, Haru hopes he will.

It was just a really surreal and shocking moment in just those five seconds, though. Souta had been his and Makoto's friend since middle school. He had been totally unassuming, wearing the male uniform every day and having that swag about her that some boys in their school were able to do so well. Even when the trio didn't have any classes, say, the weekend, he had never worn any kind of feminine clothing, nor any jewelry of any kind. He was just their friend, always cracking jokes, always the one who was somehow able to coax Makoto to do something mischievous.

Hell, when the three had started high school just a few years back, Souta was the one grabbing the girls' attention, both he and Makoto. Sometimes he'd hear from the small clusters of girls during lunch about how cute the "Tachibana pair" is.

Come to think of it, how did Makoto not know? They're cousins; he should have known something.

Not that he held any kind of resentment towards Souta. He was never jealous of any of the girls that would flutter to his side whenever he appeared to be alone. He was always so smooth: both in talking and in swimming, from what the others would say. He might as well be Haru's cousin, for all that mattered.

What he doesn't get, however, was how Souta was able to keep something so obvious so hidden for the past four or five years. On top of that, he regretted the way he had to discover that.

 

 

"Souta-sun." Rei had just finished stretching, somewhat red on the ears as he looks at the student who had just waltzed in on the team during their warm-ups. Now the whole team starts paying attention to the new watcher, just sitting casually on a foldable chair. “Your name is Souta… right?”

Souta Tachibana, the ever amicable one in the trio comprising of Makoto and Haruka since middle school. Sure, he wasn’t as friendly to strangers as Makoto was, but Haru would daresay that the guy was making up for that with a deviousness that could sometimes come up to par with Nagisa’s. Speaking of Nagisa, the boy literally hops  towards his old friend—but why is he hopping—and somehow lands right in his lap. “Nice seeing you again, Souta-chan,” he says with a grin. “You need to visit the pool some more, you know!”

“I won’t, unless you drop the ‘chan’,” Souta says with a light chuckle, ruffling Nagisa’s fluffy blonde hair. “Souta is a guy name.”

“That’s not gonna stop me from saying Souta-chaaaaaaan!” Nagisa raises his voice to a higher octave as he spoke, and Haru feels the temptation to walk over to them and smother Nagisa’s  mouth with something: his hands, the towel in Makoto’s hand, the extra shirt hanging around Souta’s neck… instead he opts to let out a sigh.

Makoto lets out a breathy laugh, _way_ better than his cousin’s chuckle, and makes his way to the pair as well. “Just finished your tennis practice, huh?” What he gets in return is an exhausted grin, and he just smiles back and shakes his head. “You can just rest here for now and watch. We’re only going to be here for an hour before washing up and heading home.”

“I’m cool with that,” Souta says, wincing a bit as Nagisa seems to squeeze him into a hug. “Lay off, will you? I still need to breathe.”

Both Makoto and Nagisa start to laugh and continue their chat, and Haru stares as he usually did, almost forgetting that Rei didn’t know a thing about Souta, as the younger teen clears his throat quietly beside him. “Who is he, exactly, Haruka-senpai?”

‘Senpai’ makes him feel old. He knows Rei is only saying that out of respect, but that doesn't mean he's not bothered by it. Haru lets out a soft grunt. “He’s an old friend of me and Makoto. Makoto’s his cousin. Nagisa only met Souta last month, I think.”

Rei raises a brow but nods, then runs over to the other three as Souta starts falling off his chair, Nagisa clinging on to him tightly. Haru sighs; Souta must have said something that ticked Nagisa off. That was becoming a recurring habit between those two people, it seems. The game of pulling-the-blonde-off-of-Souta ends quickly, and soon it’s time to practice.

Great. Haru would rather swim and let Souta watch rather than talk with him.

 

“Do you want to stay the night at my place tonight?” The sun was setting low over the horizon, and Haru, Makoto, and Souta just completed their walk around town. Makoto smiles at the two of them. “We haven’t done that in a while, so I’m just wondering—”

Souta laughs, planting a light hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “The answer’s always yes, Mako.” Glittering gray eyes focus in on Haru, Makoto’s question still awaiting the raven-haired boy’s answer. Haru sighs and lowers his head a little; Souta laughs again. “Alright! I miss these slumber parties!”

Makoto laughs along with him—these two never get tired of laughing or being cheery, don’t they?—and smiles at Haru. “We can go straight to my house; I’ll lend you some clothes to sleep in.”

Haru just hums in assent. He had to agree with Souta, missing those ‘slumber parties’.

 

“Haru, can you bring this towel to Souta?” Makoto fishes out a fresh one from his drawer and holds it out to him, just as he finally finds the perfect position to sleep in the bed. His friend smiles apologetically. “Sorry.”

He rolls out of the bed and makes a lazy grab for the green towel. “Doesn’t matter,” he raises his arm and lets the towel hit Makoto’s head, earning a small ‘hey’ from the brunette. “I’m getting the fluffy pillow tonight.” He quickly turns away before Makoto pulls out the sad puppy look, and goes down the hall to the bathroom.

The first thing Haru does as soon as he reaches the closed door is tilt his head and try to figure out what Souta’s doing in the bathroom. It’s silent on the other side, so he grabs the doorknob and twists it open. “Makoto found a towel for you.”

“Thanks—wait, Haru..!”

Why does Souta sound so alarmed? He always walked in on Haru and Makoto when they’re just about to shower, so why act so shocked? Haru looks up and sees the boy just finished unclipping his black bra—

Wait, bra? Haru stops in his tracks, brows furrowing faster before he could frown. He gives Souta a look over. After a few seconds of taking in the sight of his friend standing in the middle of the bathroom, the shower already on and running, Souta’s school clothes just a pile around his feet, and the double-checking on the bra around his chest, realization dawns on Haru, and he sets his jaw, slowly holding the towel up in his line of vision, so that he could block his view on anything but Souta’s face.

Souta knits her brows together. “Why so weird all of a sudden?”

Haru just scowls. “When did you grow boobs?”

Souta just stares at him silently for a few seconds, then the hint of a smirk grows on her lips. Her shoulders start to tremble a bit as her smirk grew into a grin. Haru realizes his mistake; he shouldn’t have said the word ‘boobs’. Just moments later, Souta’s in a laughing fit, sinking to the bathroom floor as she shakes with heavy gasps. That’s when Makoto runs in, confusion written in his face. His hair’s all mussed up, shirt gripped tightly in his hand, and he’s only in boxers as he shakes Haru’s shoulders. “What did you do, Haru?”

He just points. Makoto follows his outstretched finger, his stare resting on the laughing Souta who’s wearing nothing but her undergarments. The brunette’s fingers digs into Haru’s skin. Oh no. “Don’t.”

But Makoto’s already letting a loud screech, fully hiding behind Haruka now, almost sobbing “Soutapleaseputonyourclothes!!”

“But…” Souta gasps out, “I need… shower..!” The shorter boy tosses the towel at her, and she feebly reaches out for it as it lands beside her. “Thanks… hahaha!!”

In all honesty, he really thinks his question wasn’t something to laugh at. It was a genuine question, and now he feels insulted. Not insulted enough to retort, but with the situation now… he really has the urge to say something. Makoto is probably in a state of shock right now, with the way he’s just stammering and tripping over his words, unable to look at his cousin while his face is a deep shade of red. Haru totally understands.

All he’s able to do right now, though, is stare. Only the sounds of numerous footsteps broke the two boys out of their stupor. It’s Ren and Ran, Makoto’s siblings, who had reacted to the laughs and sobbing. “What’s going on?” Ren demands. “We heard a noise upstairs.”

Makoto finally stops his little freak-out, but he still keeps a death grip on Haru’s shoulders as he pointedly avoids looking at Souta entirely and instead stares at the twins wide-eyed. “Uh…” he draws in a breath. “Well—“ both teens glance back at Souta, who just then realized the awkwardness of the situation and covered herself with the towel. “yoU SEE—”

Haru lets out a huff, glaring at Souta before glaring at the kids. He needs an explanation now, before he goes crazy. “Did you know Souta was a girl?”

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one-time fic but it looks like I'm writing a series.  
> I mean it DOES look it but eh. I enjoyed writing it-- did you enjoy reading it?  
> Thank you for making it to the end, people. Yeah.  
> Now go eat pie.


End file.
